The main object of the game is to turn the main stoplight from green to yellow to red by hitting the nine stoplight targets. Shooting the ball up the ramp or into the eject hole also spots a stoplight target. Once all nine have been lit, the objective is to shoot the ball up the ramp again, thus "running the red light," and starting the police chase mode. To escape the police, the player can either shoot the ball up the ramp again or by lighting all nine stoplight targets again and then shooting the eject hole, starting multi-ball. Once multi-ball begins, all targets, spinners, and bumper shots increase the Hideout Jackpot. To win the jackpot, the player must shoot the ramp once again. Another main feature of the game is the Freeways; one is located in each of the left and right orbits, denoted by spinners. Shooting either one of the two inlanes or making a loop around one of the orbits lights a Freeway, and the player then has 5 seconds to shoot the lit orbit again, scoring the Freeway value, increasing from 25,000 to 100,000 points, and eventually lighting an extra ball. Shooting the ball up the ramp also increases the bonus multiplier from 2X up to 5X, any additional shots beyond 5X activate the BONUS HELD. Once the jackpot has been won, the player can then attempt to light all nine stoplight targets again, and doing so lights a special, which can be collected if the ball drains in the correct outlane. Extra balls will be given, but once five of them are earned in a game, a score award is added per one earned thereafter.
Production
During its design, High Speed was jokingly called "High Cost" by some rival Williams designers due to its then-high production cost. The advances in the mechanical design that went into High Speed, coupled with the machine's popularity, led to many machines being kept in service much longer than was previously the norm. The play surfaces of the machine were not initially given as much attention, leading to many High Speed machines seeing service to this day in extremely worn condition. Williams rapidly addressed this issue by making mylar playfield covers available and later adding hard clear paint coats to their playfields. Canadian specialist Classic Playfield Reproductions produced an officially licensed High Speed 13-color Reproduction Playfield, which shipped as limited edition in 2014.
Reception
High Speed was one of the games that helped revitalize the pinball industry, which had become stagnant due in part to the North American video game crash of 1983. High Speed sold 17,080 units. Pinball designer Pat Lawlor and pinball programmer Dwight Sullivan stated that High Speed is one of their favorite games.
Game quotes
"Okay buddy, Pull over!"
"504, this is dispatch. He what?"
"Suspect got away."
"He got away."
"Dispatch, this is 504. We're in pursuit, over."
"Roger 504. Apprehend them."
"Dispatch this is 504. Suspect ran a red light. Over."
"Dispatch, this is 504. He got away, over."
Machine messages
"Light is red."
"Run red light."
"You got away."
"You escaped."
Digital versions
A licensed version of this table was released on The Pinball Arcade for multiple platforms. Its successor was also released as an additional table for this collection. After June 30, 2018, neither of these tables are available for any platform due to WMS license expiration. Rare adapted High Speed into a video game of the same name for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was published by Tradewest in 1991.
